Hasbro's convention Hascon was enough of a success that we're getting a sequel - but we're going to skip a year. The next one will once again be in Providence, RI in 2019, not 2018. It was posted on Twitter, and we'll post more as we have it. This year's Star Wars presence was pretty good - a good chunk of space was devoted to the first public showing of The Last Jedi toys mere days after launch, although few items on display were reveals.
I had some time, so I threw up some more prototype pictures of the Landspeeder. Maybe you didn't see them, maybe you did, but here they are again with more angles. A panel for The Black Series was rescheduled from the web times, and I caught a livestream of it. As far as I can tell, there were no product reveals in the stream - so let's gawk over this Landspeeder some more!
I just snapped a few more (or better) shots of items the other day. Maybe you've seen these, but if not here's another look. (No, not another Luke.)
The Titan Hero Series Yoda is a great mishmash of his design from The Empire Strikes Back and the prequels, including his snake and cane from the Kenner era plus a lightsaber from the not-as-old era. I've felt that these 12-inch scale figures have been generally great - their only real shortcoming is my preferene for Original Trilogy-era characters, of which there have been precious few at this size. The production sample of Yoda looked so incredible that for $10, I'd strongly recommend everybody give him a good look when he hits stores in a little while.
You may have seen this from San Diego Comic-Con, but it was mobbed by people in a tight booth. At HasCon, there was more space between things, so you don't have to worry about being crushed alive from all sides while trying to look at an action figure. Also notable, many figures in the diorama were customized and a Luke Stormtrooper has an alternate, wet head. I was unable to find out if it's coming out or was just a thing for the booth, but the important thing tonight is that you can see it after the jump.
So there aren't any more new vehicles on display, but it's worth noting that the Wampa with Luke Skywalker is sized similarly to the recent Probe Droid with Darth Vader and Bala-Tik with Rathtar - and should be in that same assortment later, you lucky so-and-sos. I'm happy to see so much new stuff from The Empire Strikes Back, and the Wampa looks nice in particular. New figure 2-packs, including BB-8's dark friend, are there too.
Hasbro revealed a few goodies at SDCC already, but there are more items yet to show. Actually, this might be it for the year - I don't know, given how quickly the Han Solo movie will (allegedly) be released. The gamut of Force Friday II products were shown, but you've seen and hopefully already bought those. Here, you'll find new 2-packs, single figures, and newish creatures. No new vehicles were displayed at this event.
While there's not much here you haven't heard of or seen teased, it's worth a look! The Vintage Collection is back, and an exploded prototype of the Imperial Hover Tank shows an incredibly high piece count for the vehicle, which is sure to have a price to match. Snoke is here with his gold bathrobe and slippers, and massive head wound, and missing jaw chunk. Who does he think he is, Karloff? Read on for more!
HasCon is on in Rhode Island right now - but it's pretty much over for the day at this point. The morning greeted guests with 90+ minute waits for exclusives, but otherwise fairly few crowds. Traffic is brisk, seating is plentiful, and it's a genuinely pleasant show to navigate. And our coverage begins here with shots of some full-size props seen on the show floor. Toys and more are incoming. You'll want to keep checking back, particularly if you are on the west coast and bored at work on a Friday afternoon.
You have to squint, but user @maro254 posted a bunch of advance looks at HasCon on Twitter. Of note was a post showing the Star Wars area with some newness - you can make out the 3 3/4-inch Vintage Hover Tank, a bunch of cardbacks, and what appears to be a 3 3/4-inch vintage Snoke! Take a look - and we'll have more later.
If you're in or near Rhode Island, you might be thinking about attending HasCon in September. If you haven't bought your tickets, Groupon has greatly reduced prices right now. Adult one-day passes are as low as $30 (formerly $60) and 3-day passes are as low as $85 (formerly $165.) It's after Labor Day, but now we know there will be an exclusive Captain Rex joining numerous other Marvel, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and potentially leftover exclusives from SDCC.
The 6-inch The Black Series Captain Rex will be available early at HasCon! And apparently you can also buy Headmaster Arcee, a Power Bank Optimus Prime, new Magic: The Gathering cards, and some other items that may or may not be shared or to be fully announced. We shall see! Click through to iO9 for more.
Rumors have been swirling for months in Transformers and G.I. Joe circles, and the event will be in September within walking distance of the Omni Hotel, at Dunkin Donuts Center. There's a decent mall nearby with a movie theater, food, pants, and all the things you'll usually want to kill time or hide accidents at a show.